Pandemic Will Officially be Over on April 25th

We asked a question earlier this year after the Covid-19 vaccines were rolling out: when will we know when the pandemic is over? It sounds dumb, but think about it: is there any agreement on who gets to say it’s over and when? We weren’t able to come up with a specific answer but now we know: the pandemic will be over starting on April 25th 2021.

That’s the date of this year’s Academy Awards Ceremony. Follow me on this for a moment. The Academy has made it clear to nominees that, if they want to participate they will HAVE to be there in person. No Zooming or Skyping in. An e-mail sent out to nominees explains:

"There will not be an option to Zoom in for the show. We are going to great lengths to provide a safe and ENJOYABLE evening for all of you in person, as well as for all the millions of film fans around the world, and we feel the virtual thing will diminish those efforts."

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So, what we have is the first event in a year where an internationally recognized body is not only ALLOWING people to attend, but REQUIRING it.

Nominees will still be allowed to WIN even if they’re not in attendance. After all, every Oscars has one winner who “can’t be with us this evening”, so the presenters usually accepts the statuette on that persons behalf. But they’re NOT going to let you Skype in a do an unshaven, t-shirt speech like you’re Jason Sudeikis at the Golden Globes.

What I hear is, “The Pandemic is over (or will be by April 25th)! Now you snowflakes have no excuse NOT to be there in person!”

This is what I’ve been waiting for! A major, annual event that encourages…nay, REQUIRES… attendance. And before you even start shooting me down because the Oscars aren’t a medical or scientific body, save it. It’s officially the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SCIENCES. That’s close enough for me.